Considering Tandy Merritt was 10 years old, there was nothing particularly unusual about his bedroom. He had a place to sleep, a chair to sit on, and a table to place his stuff.
Throw in “Commander Clash and the Renegades” and “Francisco Fiend” movie posters – as well as a pennant of the local Class A baseball team, the Cambridge Bunt Cakes – and the walls framed a space that was much like countless others.
Thing is, Tandy never sat on the chair because it was reserved for Conch.
When Tandy would get home from school, first thing he’d do is rush up the steps, plop on his bed, and start chatting up Conch.
His mom and dad, Jackie and Glen, would often carefully (and quietly) crack the door and peek in on Tandy in deep conversation.
But Conch?
They couldn’t see him.
He simply wasn’t there.
That was true again on this day, as Jackie slowly closed the door and joined Glen in tiptoeing away.
Once they reached the kitchen, Jackie buried her face in her hands and mouthed a silent scream.
“Glen, what are we gonna do?” she said, pleadingly. “It’s gotten to the point where we’ve got to confront him about this. This isn’t just a cute case of a kid with an imaginary friend, he thinks this Conch person is real. That can’t be healthy. Can it? Maybe we shouldn’t have ignored it for as long as we did.”
Glen paced back and forth and shook his head.
“I know, I know … I just don’t know how to even bring the subject up,” Glen said. “I mean, he’s a great kid – excellent grades, polite, good little soccer player, has plenty of real friends – but this thing with Conch, what do I say? ‘Hey, buddy, mom and me are worried you’re a nut, so please don’t be a nut anymore, OK? Good talk.’”
The two sat in silence for a moment before Jackie let out a long sigh.
“We just have to present a united front,” she said. “And the longer we wait the worse it’s gonna get, so let’s go.”
Glen gave the door to Tandy’s room two quick raps and opened it.
“Mind if your mom and I talk to you a minute?”
“Sure,” Tandy said, standing up before swatting his strawberry blonde bangs out of his eyes. “I’m not in trouble, am I?”
“No, no, not at all,” Jackie said. “But we do need to talk to you about something that’s bothering us. Well, it concerns us, I guess I should say.”
Tandy sat back down on the bed.
“It’s about Conch, isn’t it?” he said.
Glen sat down next to his son and put his arm around him.
“Look, you’ve been talking to Conch ever since you were knee high to me, and we used to get a kick out of it,” Glen explained. “A lot of kids have imaginary friends, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Shoot, when I was little, I had a pretend friend named Aloysius and we used to go to the woods behind my house and play all day. I thought I could see him, too.
“But after a while, you grow out of stuff like that. You start making new friends … real friends, real people to have real conversations with. Don’t you think it’s time to let Conch go?”
Tandy furrowed his brow.
“Why did you let Aloysius go?” Tandy asked. “If he was your friend, how come you abandoned him?”
“Because it was time,” Glen said. “I mean, there was nothing to abandon, really. Aloysius was just a figment of my imagination. He seemed real, but he wasn’t. I didn’t know it then, but I know it now. And Conch isn’t real, either, buddy.”
Tandy pointed to the chair.
“Are you sure? Just because you can’t see Conch doesn’t mean he’s not there,” Tandy said. “And I’ll bet if you really think about it, Aloysius was there, too. I know you and mom can’t see him … only I’m supposed to see him. But he knows what I’m thinking even when I don’t talk to him. When Jenny in homeroom smiles at me, he knows exactly how it makes me feel – no one else does. And when I see Hector struggling with his knee brace going to the gym, it’s Conch who lets me know I need to give him a hand. And that time I made fun of Randy when he tripped over his desk and dropped his books, Conch let me know I shouldn’t have done that. I felt bad that I did.
“Conch is just like me … only he’s better than me. When I look at him, I see who I want to be.”
Jackie threw her head back and then chuckled.
“I cannot believe this,” she said. “I cannot believe what an idiot I’ve been. Conch. Conch! I never asked because I never made the connection, but that’s just the name you gave your conscience, isn’t it?”
“Yep,” Tandy said. “We were at grandma’s house. I don’t remember how old I was or what you and dad were talking to me about, but I do remember you saying, ‘Let your conscience be your guide.’ And from that point on, I’ve been letting Conch guide me.”
Jackie gave Tandy a kiss on the head and grabbed Glen by the hand. She then glanced at the chair
“We’ll leave you alone, kid,” she said. “I’m not saying I fully understand what’s going on in your head, but if you believe Conch is sitting in a chair and it makes you feel better to talk to him, we’re not gonna stop you. Seems like he’s been steering you in the right direction.
“What’s important is, we love you, Tandy, always have and always will. And we’re proud of you.”
After they walked back to the kitchen, Glen gave Jackie a big hug.
“We should’ve had that talk with him earlier,” Glen said, with a laugh. “I wish I was that creative.”
“I definitely feel better – and a little stupid for not figuring it out before now,” Jackie said. “Weird the things that stick with you … it’s why you have to be careful of what you say to a child. Anyway, we need some bananas and apples, so I’m gonna run to the store. Wanna give me a ride?”
“Sure thing,” Glen said. “Lemme go to the bedroom and get my wallet and keys.”
As Glen walked toward his nightstand, he glanced at the small rocking chair situated next to the dresser.
Usually, it had his work shirt and pants hanging over the back, but not today.
Today, the chair belonged to Aloysius – and it had been a long, long time since Glen had seen his old friend.
